Category Archives: Match Reports

Post navigation

Arsenal lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. Here are the full player ratings for the match below:

1. Petr Cech: 8/10

The new captain gave a commanding performance and made 3 important saves in the opening 15 minutes, when Manchester City are irresistible. Was vocal to the players in front of him but with a make-shift back four he had a tough task.

Couldn’t do anything with either goal, both of which were well crafted by Manchester City as they ran our defensive line ragged.

2. Hector Bellerin: 7/10

Supported the attack well whenever we did manage to get forward and probably had our best chance when Maitland-Niles played a sweeping ball across from the left and Bellerin did well to mug off Mendy and smash in a shot from close range. Once of those chances which you hoped went towards the far corner but ended up going straight at the keeper.

Will be interesting to see how much competition Stephan Lichtsteiner can give him this season.

20. Shkodran Mustafi: 7/10

Usually a liability but put in a decent performance today. Not many defenders will cope with the Manchester City attack but was well organise alongside new signing Sokratis and made a couple of important tackles.

Central defensive is a position we’re a bit light so Arsenal need him to have a consistent season.

5. Sokratis Papastathopoulos: 6/10

A tough introduction into Premier League life but he will get better. Tough to really evaluate his performance as he was run ragged like most of the team at times but didn’t seem out of place.

15. Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6/10

Was given the run around from Riyad Mahrez and Kyle Walker for the first half an hour before going off injured. Despite that, was full of running and never gave up, which is all you can ask for from a central midfielder asked to play as a full back.

34. Granit Xhaka: 5/10

Didn’t impose himself on the game and went missing for large parts of it. He is a player who doesn’t seem to know what his responsibilities are and it shows. Is he a ball winning midfielder or a ball playing one? Well he did neither and was vastly overshadowed by his considerably younger counterpart. Should be the one to make way once Lucas Torreira is fully fit but have a sneaky suspicion he won’t.

29. Matteo Guendouzi: 8/10

Considering his experience (or lack thereof) he put in a really excellent performance in this afternoon. He was composed, committed and won more tackles in central midfield than I’ve seen over the last few seasons. Clearly once Lucas Torreira is fully fit then he will be a guaranteed started but on this evidence Guendouzi will be the man to partner him in midfield, not Granit Xhaka.

7. Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6/10

Has put in better performances in an Arsenal shirt and was disappointing today. Perhaps asked to play a role he’s not used to, having to track back on the left hand side – and was unable to give the young Ashley Maitland-Niles adequate cover on that side. Although the caveat being most teams would struggle against Kyle Walker and Riyad Marhez / Bernado Silva.

10. Mesut Özil: 4/10

Did Özil have a late night? His passing was off, his vision was off, and his all round performance was off. Seemed to lack concentration and it’s hard to believe he is (by far) our highest paid player. People sometimes lay into Özil for his performances but he’s a superstar signing on superstar wages – he’s treated like a World Class player but doesn’t perform like one.

Badly mis-kicked a golden opportunity when Lichtsteiner cut back from the left, badly mis-controlled a ball when Ederson kicked it out to him (which he should have scored from) and to cap it all he got in the way (and got caught offside) when he should have left it and let the onside Lacazette go through on goal.

A performance which stank out the entire stadium.

8. Aaron Ramsey: 5/10

Not convincing at all and struggled to impose himself on the game. Definitely had the contract situation hanging over his head and you could tell from his performance. Was in the Number 10 role which was strange considering Mesut Özil is better suited to that position so it’s unclear if Unai Emery is appeasing him so he’ll sign a new deal?

14. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 6/10

Isolated up front but should have done better with the opportunities he had. The lack of service from Özil, Ramsey and Mkhitaryan didn’t help but with his pace and movement should have given Manchester City a few more problems.

Substitutes:

12. Stephan Lichtsteiner: 7/10Came on for Maitland-Niles on 35 minutes

Did what was asked of him and looked like a solid player who Arsenal will need over the coming season. Wasn’t afraid to get involved and more importantly get in Manchester City’s faces, which is something we lack considering we’re far too much of a soft touch.

Look forward to him playing more although right back isn’t a position we’re struggle for numbers unfortunately, it’s the other side.

9. Alexandre Lacazette: 7/10Came on for Ramsey on 54 minutes

Looked lively when he came on and more of a goal threat than Aubameyang. Had a couple of decent half chances which if taken, could have changed the game. Emery will certainly have something to think about come the Chelsea game and he has definitely put himself in the frame to start that match. Played like he has a point to prove.

11. Lucas Torreira: 6/10Came on for Xhaka on 70 minutes

Did well for his 20 minute cameo and looks a tidy player. Hard to really evaluate his impact considering the number of minutes we played but the sooner he can start instead of Granit Xhaka, the better.

Arsenal lost 2-0 in their opening game of the 2018/2019 season and although we were outplayed at times, the future looks positive.

The young Frenchman, Matteo Guendouzi, looked excellent in central midfield and although he was a bit rash at times, overall he was fantastic – making important tackles, getting around the pitch and putting in a real team performance.

Lucas Torreira looked good once he came on to replace Granit Xhaka, and when introduced Stephen Lichtsteiner looked like a handy addition as well.

Manchester City where as you would expect – a team with seasons under their belt with an experienced manager, who were clear winners in the Premier League last year.

And Arsenal, were also where you would expect – a team in transition after a seismic change this summer.

There were some positives we can build on, but also a few negatives.

Mesut Özil was playing as if he was asleep and if he was more alert we could have scored a couple of goals – the first opportunity went begging after his mis-control went straight into the hands of Ederson and the second after he got in the way and got penalised for being offside when Lacazette was clean through.

And then there was the chance he had from a Lichtsteiner cut back, which he. managed to miss completely and fall over in the process.

With Aaron Ramsey in the team, the side doesn’t look balanced with Özil in the team and if you ask me which one should make way, it has to be the German (former) international.

Arsenal lost 2-0 in their opening game of the 2018/2019 season and although we were outplayed at times, the future looks positive.

The young Frenchman, Matteo Guendouzi, looked excellent in central midfield and although he was a bit rash at times, overall he was fantastic – making important tackles, getting around the pitch and putting in a real team performance.

At the end of the game, I was proud of Arsenal. Yes, 2 stupid mistakes lead to the first 2 Manchester United goals but mistakes happen and it’s not as if Koscielny and Mustafi misplaced those passed on purpose. After going 2-0 down after 11 minutes, all Arsenal could do is respond and did they.

After the United sucker punches our response was (almost) perfect and we dominated the game, with chance after chance. The only problem was David De Gea was on world class form – some of the saves were sensational and he kept Manchester United in the game – because against any other keeper we would have scored 4 or 5 in the first half alone.

Manchester United have a reputation for being very negative under Mourinho but today he took that to a whole new level. It was as if he thought he was up against Barcelona in their pomp. A squad that cost around £500 million to assemble was reduced to a defensively desperate mess by Arsenal, and for that I am proud of my team.

And any Arsenal supporter who is critical of Arsene Wenger is an absolute joke – could be legislate for the 2 mistakes? No. Was it his fault that a side that cost half a billion to assemble played like a non-league side at The Emirates? No.

In the last decade, we’ve only won once at Stamford Bridge, when Arsenal won 5-3 and Robin van Persie scored a hat trick and John Terry decided that he forgot to move his legs and just gave up. While that was a great game and performance from Arsenal, the background to that match was that Andre Villas Boas was losing control of the Chelsea changing room.

And recently, we’ve been abysmal at Stamford Bridge, hence the above bet and tweet. It seems like every time we visit Stamford Bridge or Anfield, we play far too open and end up losing 3-0, 4-0 or 5-0.

But today, Arsenal played like a team.

Which this season hasn’t happened yet.

For the first time in a while, the formation, team selection and tactics were all spot on. Arsenal had Koscielny, Mustafi and Monreal in the back three, and had Hector Bellerin on the right (where he should be – not on the left!). And finally, finally, we had Sead Kolasinac where he was supposed to be, at left back!

Crazy I know Arsene but playing your full backs in the right positions might work!

Then we had Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey in central midfield, both of whom had excellent games.

But whether Arsene Wenger had intended or not, the front three today were spot on.

With Alexandre Lacazette the spearhead of the Arsenal attack, he was flanked by Danny Welbeck and Alexander Iwobi – and it was a masterstroke.

That front three set the tone for Arsenal’s performance and all three of those players were full of running and ran their hearts out for the cause. They hustled, harried and put the Chelsea defence under constant pressure.

The amount of closing down they did was truly phenomenal and something we haven’t seen this season, mainly because of the way Mesut Özil plays.

Welbeck, Lacazette and Iwobi worked together and if it wasn’t for their example we wouldn’t have been good as we were because they set the tone, lifted the team with their passion and that’s why we should have beaten Chelsea in their own back yard – comfortably.

In terms of chances, Welbeck had a good chance with a header early on, Lacazette forced a good save from Courtois after Ramsey and Bellerin combined well – and overall we caused the home side all kinds of problems.

The performance from back to front was exceptional today and you will not find an Arsenal fan who was not proud of the lads today. They worked their socks off, gave it their all, were well organised and played like a proper team.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the goal we rich deserved and that’s a bit disappointing, but no-one can fault the performance and in a game where we usually get turned over, instead Arsenal have given the fans hope and optimism moving forwards.